By Scott Richardson Bob Taylor of Minonk was hooked on bass fishing until he caught three muskies by accident at Evergreen Lake in northwestern McLean County. The trio of vicious strikes sent his heart racing to his throat and ripped up his fishing gear. "Bass lures don't stand a chance.

By Scott Richardson Dominick "Big Knobs" Culjan, a premiere Illinois River fishing guide and good friend, died last year after he fell from a tree stand. With archery season underway, please be careful. The U.S.

By Scott Richardson It's a stay of execution, not a reprieve. Gov. Rod Blagojevich only extended the closing dates of 11 state parks by two weeks to Nov. 30. Supporters of state parks need to keep pressure on to force Gov. Blagojevich to reverse his decision entirely. Check out Lt. Gov.

By Scott Richardson It was one thing when Twin City lawyer John Pratt and Bruce Rea, plant manager at SC2 Tire and Wheel Assembly Faculty in Bloomington- Normal, swam on teams in high school and college. Events were held in swimming pools then.

By Scott Richardson TOWER, Minn. - Steve Pallo, the head of the fisheries division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, can give chapter and verse for some of the best spots for muskie on Illinois lakes. But outside the state, he relies on a little help from friends.

By Scott Richardson;srichardson@pantagraph.com Two generations of the Niepagen family from Bloomington-Normal scored big on a recent fishing trip to Manitoba. Really big. They reeled in channel catfish that weighed 30 pounds and lake trout that topped that mark.

By Scott Richardson;srichardson@pantagraph.com The Nature Conservancy has transferred the 720-acre Chinquapin Bluffs Natural Area in Woodford County and the 60-acre Henline Creek Natural Area in northern McLean County to the ParkLands Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring natural areas based in Mclean County.

A pivoted catch designed to fall into a notch on a ratchet wheel so as to allow movement in only one direction (e.g. on a windlass or in a clock mechanism), or alternatively to move the wheel in one direction.